Stryve is been around the biltong market for about three years now. Stryving on means something different to everybody, but regardless of what your days may hold, life is always easier to tackle on a full stomach. So, grab a bag of your favorite biltong and carry on with your errands, your workout, your housework, your biking, your work, your swim, your gardening, your hike, your laundry, your homework, your yoga, your parenting, your training, your EVERYTHING. You do you, just don’t do it hungry!
Warren, the CBO (Chief Biltong Officer), was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa and has been making biltong himself for nearly 30 years. If you are interested in becoming a brand ambassador or would like to partner with them, please email marketing@stryve.com. This brand of biltong is distributed by Stryve Fods, LLC., and it is based out of Plano, Texas. This biltong is manufactured by the private label company Marfood USA, located in Taylor, Michigan, far as we know.
The first review on the Stryve biltong will focus on a 2.25 ounce/64 gram bag of their Hickory Seasoned flavored beef biltong. This flavor is described as being all-natural, with rich flavors of hickory smoke. The bag was purchased at a Target store in Oxnard, California.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Natural Smoke Flavor (Water, Hickory Smoke Concentrate), Vinegar, Contains 2% or Less of: Salt, Raisin Juice Concentrate, Black Pepper, White Pepper, Garlic Powder, Coriander, Clove, and Nutmeg.
The beef used is not guaranteed to be free of growth hormones or additional antibiotics. Also, the beef is not guaranteed to have at least partial free range access to graze on grass. As a result, the highest ingredient rating that can be awarded is a Good (8/10) rating.
The liquid marinade is comprised of healthy vinegar, healthy raisin juice concentrate, and liquid hickory smoke.
There are some healthy ingredients used, such as black pepper, white pepper, garlic powder, coriander, clove, and nutmeg.
As a general rule, biltong is healthier than jerky because no enzymes are destroyed in the air drying process, where the intact enzymes help break down the beef in our bodies.
The sugar level is perfect at having no sugar per 28 grams of biltong. The salt level is high at 430mg of salt per 28 grams of biltong to lose a rating. Our preference is 350mg of salt or less per 28 grams of biltong.
This biltong does qualify to have no sodium nitrite. Instead, salt is the main preservative and, to a lesser degree, healthy vinegar. Commendably, this biltong does qualify to have no MSG added.
Decent (7/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
STRYVE – HICKORY SEASONED BEEF BILTONG
Written by guest jerky reviewer Paul Rekker
When I open the bag I smell strong sweet and vinegar. The pieces are small to medium in size. They are sliced rather thin and are a bit shiny. They leave a slight oily residue on your fingers. These pieces of biltong look like biltong, but they also look a bit like regular jerky.
When I bite into the biltong I taste salt (strong), sweet (mild), I do actually taste hickory (as advertised), vinegar, garlic, natural beef, and I believe I am also tasting a decent flavor of mustard or mustard seeds if you will. There is a portion of fat on one of the pieces and, as usual, it seriously enhances the flavors, which are abundant and quite tasty. I am incredibly impressed with this flavor of jerky, sorry biltong, is not disappointing at all.
I am convinced that this biltong is well deserving of a perfect 10/10. Gentlemen?
Written by guest jerky reviewer Stéphane Leclerc
The Stryve Hickory Seasoned Biltong tastes good, although it is quite salty. I am more familiar with significantly thinner biltong, where the strips simply melt in your mouth. This thinner texture does make up for a very pleasant texture. I had several small pieces of “biltongnized” silver skin in my portion, these bits were dry as expected, and they had the “raggedy” texture of a dish cloth. They were fibrous and took away from the experience. The thickness of the product did not sway my assessment of this biltong, but the amount of silver skin and texture did.
On the other hand, the larger pieces tasted like what biltong should taste like, and I especially enjoyed the smokiness of this product.
The Stryve Hickory Seasoned Biltong tastes good, and I find there is room for improvement. As such, I’d give this 8/10 Taste Rating.
Here is what Mark had to say about this original beef biltong flavor from Stryve: “Thanks Paul and Stéphane for the interesting taste reviews. Agreed with Stéphane that this biltong is quite salty tasting. I do not have any problems with the texture other than they are quite greasy, leaving a fair amount of oily residue on your fingers. True in that the classic flavors of coriander and clove known to biltong are present. The hickory smoked aspect came across rather well, and the odd wads of fat seriously enhance the natural beef flavor. With Paul at a 10, Stéphane at an 8 rating, and myself at a 9 rating, a Very Good (9/10) taste rating will be awarded.”
This 2.25 ounce/64 gram bag costs $6.29. That equates to a price of $2.79 an ounce for biltong, which rates as a cheap.
Very Good (9/10) – Taste Rating
Bag Review
This resealable plastic bag has everything imprinted on the bag itself, both on the front and back. No labels are affixed to this bag.
A slogan printed on this bag is “Beef Done Better”. Some facts printed are “16g Protein”, “0g Total Sugar”, “Made in the USA”, “Air-Dried Beef Slices”, “Natural Smoke Flavor Added”, “100% Natural”, “No Nitrates”, “No Gluten”, “Nothing Artificial”, and “No MSG”.
There are no missing bag categories. A good blurb is printed on the back and front about biltong. Admirably, Stryve offers a guarantee if you are not satisfied. An email address is provided for customer inquiries.
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